Alexander Donelson Coffee papers, 1817-1901 (bulk 1844-1848).

Abstract: Papers of A. D. Coffee, planter of Florence, Ala. The collection consists largely of letters, 1844-1848, exchanged between Coffee and his wife, Anne, written while he was on surveying trips in Butler, Lowndes, Clarke, and Wilcox counties, Ala. The letters describe Coffee’s surveying work, the Coffees’ plantation, and family matters. There are also letters from him to her while he was a captain in the 16th Alabama Regiment, 1861- 1862, including reflections on leaders and strategy, advice on managing plantation affairs, and descriptions of camp life and battles. Also present are scattered other items, including a few papers of and about Coffee’s father, John Coffee (1772-1833), a general in the Tennessee militia.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: A letter from 5 September 1861 (Folder 6) notes the arrest of a man for selling abolition newspapers. There is also a 10 March 1862 letter where A.D. Coffee asks his wife to send another “servant” to him at a Confederate Army camp because the one who came with him was homesick and Coffee feared the man might run off with the Union Army (Folder 7).